Heroin scourge reaches beyond Worcester

Monday

Aug 18, 2014 at 6:00 AM

By Susan Spencer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

The leafy lawns and quaint town commons that dot communities around Worcester County may appear to be a far cry from inner-city streets. But the bucolic landscape doesn't shield outlying towns from the scourge of heroin addiction, which also has been tied to nine or 10 overdose deaths in the city of Worcester this month alone.

While Worcester has had 14 or 15 suspected heroin deaths since Jan. 1, according to Worcester Police, there have been 25 suspected heroin deaths outside the city, among a total 171 unattended deaths under investigation by Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.'s office.

Confirmation of a heroin overdose can't be made until toxicology tests are completed by the medical examiner's office, which can take many months. Law enforcement authorities consider a death in which the victim is found with the drug or paraphernalia such as needles to be a suspected heroin overdose.

Suspected heroin deaths have been reported from Southboro to Hardwick, Gardner to Dudley, and across a vast swath of the central part of the county.

Northbridge had its second suspected heroin-related death of the year last Sunday, when a 32-year-old man was found dead shortly after 12:30 p.m. in the McDonald's restaurant on Providence Road, across from a busy shopping plaza.

For a town with a 2010 Census population of 15,707, Northbridge's heroin-related death rate of 1.3 per 10,000 population is higher than Worcester's, which is less than 1 per 10,000.

Northbridge Police Detective Sgt. John D. Ouillette said the town had been seeing about one call a week for overdoses until recently, when it jumped to "a couple a week."

Many users who have overdosed have been revived with Narcan nasal spray (naloxone), which paramedics from the town's ambulance service administer.

Detective Sgt. Ouillette said he didn't know whether the recent spike in deaths is a result of heroin that is more pure and deadly, or that's cut with other harmful substances, or whether people are using it alone and didn't have someone who could call 911.

Northbridge police are working with seven other towns in the Blackstone Valley Drug Task Force — Grafton, Sutton, Uxbridge, Douglas, Blackstone, Millville and Mendon — to stop the spread of heroin. But the problem doesn't have a single source.

"Some say the heroin is coming out of Worcester, others from sources in Northbridge, some from Woonsocket, R.I.," Detective Sgt. Ouillette said. "For most dealers, it's to support their own habit. One girl (we arrested) had a $2,500-a-week habit."

Auburn Chief of Police Andrew J. Sluckis Jr. said, "Heroin is probably less available than in Worcester, but it's obviously here."

Auburn also had a suspected overdose fatality last Sunday, when a 47-year-old man was found dead in the bathroom at La Quinta Inn on Southbridge Street.

Chief Sluckis said it appeared that the victim dropped dead before he took a step.

"I think that the type of heroin that's being used kills these people immediately," he said.

Larcenies have increased in the suburbs, according to Chief Sluckis. "We know those are 95 percent drug-related," he said.

Bolton, which hasn't had a suspected overdose death under investigation this year, has also seen the impact of heroin-related crime.

Chief of Police Vincent C. Alfano said, "When we do see housebreaks, they tend to be heroin users. That's the way people pay for their habit: You end up dealing or stealing."

Northboro Chief of Police Mark K. Leahy said: "In the last six weeks we've probably had four overdoses. It has our attention."

Northboro had a suspected fatal heroin overdose in May, when a 24-year-old woman from Worcester was left unresponsive at the side of Route 20.

Detective Sgt. Brian T. Griffin said he believed she had come to the town to visit friends and called her dealer from Worcester to deliver the drugs to Northboro.

"We were starting to see the increase (in heroin overdoses) then," Detective Sgt. Griffin said. "We've had our share of cases in the last year that have been reversed by Narcan."

Barre Chief of Police Erik Demetropolous said the rural town, population 5,398, is not immune to the heroin crisis.

"It's getting progressively worse. Part of this is we're dealing with prescription painkillers and that's leading into them trying heroin," he said.

"No one moved to Barre because of the nightlife," he added. "Some people have this thought that there's no crime, that this is a Mayberry. That's an unfortunate mind-set. Crime knows no jurisdiction."

Like many others in law enforcement, Chief Demetropolous noted the economics of paying $30 to $80 for an opioid Percocet or OxyContin, versus $8 to $10 for a bag of heroin.

Also like other police chiefs who spoke to the Telegram & Gazette, he tied the increase in hard drug use to the loosening of drug trafficking penalties for moderate amounts of drugs and the decriminalization of possessing small amounts of marijuana. Police officers are writing increasing numbers of citations for marijuana possession, which carries a $100 fine, they say.

"The young generation no longer sees marijuana as a gateway. They don't see it as a bad thing and then they move into the harder drugs," Chief Demetropolous said. "Heroin has had a huge spike in this town."

Chief Demetropolous said the town isn't just seeing an increase in calls related to narcotics and overdoses, but also a jump in people driving under the influence of drugs.

The only positive thing to come out of the heroin crisis, he said, was the increased awareness and communication from townspeople, through the department's tip line, social media and mobile apps including MyPD. Officials plan to post a survey on the town's website soon to see how to better connect with residents.

While small-town public safety departments may lack personnel numbers to combat the drug crisis, their personal connection with residents may strengthen community response.

"I truly believe it creates a bigger hole when somebody dies or overdoses," Chief Demetropolous said. "It's your neighbor. A lot of our kids go to the same schools. We go to the same band concerts in the center of town in the summertime ... In Barre, you know them all."

Fitchburg, one of the larger cities outside Worcester, with a population of 40,318, has had four suspected heroin overdose deaths this year.

Kevin MacLean, director of homeless services at the shelter, Our Father's House, said there are overdoses almost every other day now. Last week, there were two funerals for suspected overdose victims, including a 48-year-old man found with a needle in his arm.

The warning issued recently by Worcester health officials about contaminated heroin on the streets may actually be having the reverse effect, according to Mr. MacLean.

"When people think there's a great drug out there, everybody chases it," he said. "The addiction is crazy, what it does to people."

Mr. MacLean said, based on what he's heard on the streets: "They're treating Narcan almost as a designated driver. Three or four people will shoot up if they know the fifth person has Narcan."

The substance-abuse treatment law signed recently by Gov. Deval L. Patrick, improving access to detox and inpatient addiction services by removing pre-authorization requirements, may help in the long run, Mr. MacLean said.

"Access to detox is a huge issue," he said. He added that a Lunenburg detective told him that if addicts can get into detox, "that's a big hit on the dealers."

In the short term, though, small towns and big cities alike are scrambling to stem the tide of overdose deaths.

The district attorney's office will hold a Narcan training session for law enforcement countywide at the Holden Police Department Tuesday.

Maryanne Frangules, executive director of the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, said after a meeting Tuesday at Everyday Miracles Peer Recovery Support Center in Worcester: "Every city and town has their own level of readiness. Every city and town has its own level of denial. The disease is rampant, and it happens in spikes."

She continued: "We need people in recovery to speak up. That's what MOAR is about. At some point, we want to change the culture."

Contact Susan Spencer at susan.spencer@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanSpencerTG.